Six NYC romances to knock your socks off

At B&N Reads Tara Sonin tagged six top NYC romances, including:

Too Hot to Touch (Rising Star Chef #1), by Louisa Edwards

This romance is just delicious: the story of a star chef, Max Lunden, who conquers the kitchen as deftly as he conquers women all over the globe. But the soul of his cooking comes from his family’s restaurant in New York City. He’s been running from his past after a falling out with his father, but when his family needs him, he returns home to help them win the Rising Star competition. But Juliet, a rising star herself in the competitive cooking world, who used to have a crush on him when she was young, is the one running the kitchen now, and she wants to win by her rules. The heat is on in this sizzly and scrumptious romance about two competitors who eventually decide they’re better on the same team.

Read about the other entries on the list.

--Marshal Zeringue

Four books that changed C.K. Stead

C. K. Stead, an award-winning novelist, literary critic, poet, and essayist, is New Zealand's poet laureate. One of four books that changed him, as shared at the Sydney Morning Herald:

CONJUGAL LOVE
Alberto Moravia

In my early 20s I discovered this novel, selected probably for its salacious title, but which taught me something quite new, how meta-fiction – the novel which, while telling its story, discusses itself and how it came about – can be compelling and intellectually satisfying. It also demonstrated (as did all of Moravia's fiction) how "I see" in the sense of apprehend, and in the sense of comprehend, can merge – a very Italian quality.

Read about the other entries on the list.

--Marshal Zeringue

Seven sci-fi books that bet on a specific year

At the B&N Sci-Fi & Fantasy Blog Jeff Somers tagged seven science fiction books that bet on a specific year, including:

Revolt in 2100, by Robert A. Heinlein

This set of linked stories collectively tells the tale of a future America fallen into theocracy and tyranny, sparking a Second American Revolution to throw off the yolk of fundamentalist religious zealots, and the immediate aftermath of that battle. Interestingly, some of the stories set after the revolution depict the resulting society from the point of view of characters who are unhappy about this course of events, and who reject the new secular society that rises from the chaos. There’s only a few decades to go before the year 2100, so there’s still plenty of time to see a theocracy take power. The line on Heinlein being an accurate prognosticator remains pretty much 50-50.

Read about the other entries on the list.

--Marshal Zeringue

Ten top books about fathers

Sam Miller was born and brought up in London, but has spent much of his adult life in India. His books include Fathers, an account of his own father, the editor, writer, critic and academic Karl Miller.

One of Sam Miller's top ten books about fathers, as shared at the Guardian:

Fun Home: A Family Tragicomic by Alison Bechdel

I read this graphic novel soon after my father’s death, but it still made me laugh. Bechdel’s father has died and is to be seen in his coffin. She rummages, in words and images, through her father’s life and closeted sexuality – as well as their shared interest in James Joyce.

Read about the other books on the list.

Fun Home is among Ann Patchett's best books.

--Marshal Zeringue

Bernard Cornwell's 6 best books

Bernard Cornwell is the author of the Sharpe novels as well as a series about Saxon England; both series have been adapted for television. One of his six best books, as shared at the Daily Express:

SLOW HORSES by Mick Herron

The first of his series about MI5 and a character called Jackson Lamb, one of the great monsters of modern fiction. He’s a wonderfully cynical writer and there’s a lot of dark humour in it. I’m not clever enough to write this sort of thing.

Read about the other books on the list.

--Marshal Zeringue

Eight top YA books about loss

At the BN Teen Blog Dahlia Adler tagged eight must-read YA books about loss and grieving, including:

How to Be Brave, by E. Katherine Kottaras

For Georgia, the loss of her mother was a truly life-altering one, and as she works to pick up the pieces, the hardest one to figure out might be who she is now that the closest person in the world to her is gone. Georgia doesn’t want to fade away; she wants to live. So what better way than to make a list of all the things she’s always wanted to do and to go ahead and do them, no matter how much they scare her? As Georgia embarks on her bucket list, her brave endeavors definitely have mixed results. But real life is made up of both triumphs and failures, and Georgia will have to experience a whole lot of both to find herself along the way.

Read about the other entries on the list.

--Marshal Zeringue

Bassem Youssef's 6 favorite books

Bassem Youssef was the host of Albernameg, the first-of-its-kind political satire show in the Middle East from 2011 until the show's termination by the Egyptian government in 2014. He now lives in the United States.

Youssef's new book is Revolution for Dummies: Laughing Through the Arab Spring.

One of his six favorite books, as shared at The Week magazine:

Forcing God's Hand by Grace Halsell

This 1999 book opened my eyes to how religion and Rapture theory ran deep in the rhetoric and ideology of right-wing America. In a country that has a constitution separating church and state, religion had a much deeper impact than I'd thought. Using scripture to steer national policy? Sounds very familiar to me.

Read about the other entries on the list.

--Marshal Zeringue

The ten unluckiest characters in science fiction & fantasy

At the B&N Sci-Fi & Fantasy Blog, Meghan Ball tagged ten of the unluckiest characters in science fiction & fantasy, including:

Neville Longbottom (The Harry Potter series, by JK Rowling)

Some might argue for another Harry here, but we feel for poor Neville Longbottom. Often characterized as a tagalong to the trio of Harry, Ron, and Hermione, Neville nevertheless tends to attract his own brand of trouble. He and Harry were born close together, and if fate had gone another way, he may have been revered as the Boy Who Lived. And yeah, that would’ve meant his parents were dead, but was he that much better off, considering they were instead driven insane by the Lestranges? Raised by his pushy grandmother, he’s shy, nervous, and frequently a failure in school. Neville tries so hard. The series often rewards him, but only after humiliating or harming him. Standing up to Harry, Hermoine, and Ron earns him 10 points for Gryffindor, but only after he’s spent the night paralyzed by a spell. The Battle of Hogwarts finally turns Neville into a hero, but his m.o. before that is being bullied, terrified, and generally bad at life.

Read about the other entries on the list.

The Harry Potter books made Anna Bradley's list of the ten best literary quotes in a crisis, Nicole Hill's list of seven of the best literary wedding themes, Tina Connolly's top five list of books where the girl saves the boy, Ginni Chen's list of the eight grinchiest characters in literature, Molly Schoemann-McCann's top five list of fictional workplaces more dysfunctional than yours, Sophie McKenzie's top ten list of mothers in children's books, Nicole Hill's list of five of the best fictional bookstores, Sara Jonsson's list of the six most memorable pets in fiction, Melissa Albert's list of more than eight top fictional misfits, Cressida Cowell's list of ten notable mythical creatures, and Alison Flood's list of the top 10 most frequently stolen books.

Professor Snape is among Sophie Cleverly's ten top terrifying teachers in children’s books.

Hermione Granger is among Brooke Johnson top five geeky heroes in literature, Nicole Hill's nine best witches in literature, and Melissa Albert's top six distractible book lovers in pop culture.

Neville Longbottom is one of Ellie Irving's top ten quiet heroes and heroines.

Mr. Weasley is one of Melissa Albert's five weirdest fictional crushes.

Hedwig (Harry's owl) is among Django Wexler's top ten animal companions in children's fiction.

Scabbers the rat is among Ross Welford's ten favorite rodents in children's fiction.

Butterbeer is among Leah Hyslop's six best fictional drinks.

Albus Dumbledore is one of Rachel Thompson's ten greatest deaths in fiction.

Lucius Malfoy is among Jeff Somers's five best evil lieutenants (or "dragons") in SF/F.

Dolores Umbridge is among Melissa Albert's six more notorious teachers in fiction, Emerald Fennell's top ten villainesses in literature, and Derek Landy's top 10 villains in children's books. The Burrow is one of Elizabeth Wilhide's nine most memorable manors in literature.

Remus Lupin is among Aimée Carter's top ten shapeshifters in fiction.

Fang (Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone is among Brian Boone's six best fictional dogs.

Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban appears on Amanda Yesilbas and Katharine Trendacosta's list ot twenty great insults from science fiction & fantasy and Charlie Jane Anders's list of the ten greatest prison breaks in science fiction and fantasy.

Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone also appears on Kenneth Oppel's top ten list of train stories, Jeff Somers's top five list of books written in very unlikely places, Phoebe Walker's list of eight mouthwatering quotes from the greatest literary feasts, John Mullan's lists of ten of the best owls in literature, ten of the best scars in fiction and ten of the best motorbikes in literature, and Katharine Trendacosta and Charlie Jane Anders's list of the ten greatest personality tests in sci-fi & fantasy, Charlie Higson's top 10 list of fantasy books for children, Justin Scroggie's top ten list of books with secret signs as well as Charlie Jane Anders and Michael Ann Dobbs's list of well-known and beloved science fiction and fantasy novels that publishers didn't want to touch. Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire made Chrissie Gruebel's list of six top fictional holiday parties and John Mullan's list of the ten best graveyard scenes in fiction.

--Marshal Zeringue

Ten of the best supernatural mysteries

Jess Kidd has a PhD in Creative Writing from St. Mary’s University. She grew up as a part of a large family from Mayo and now lives in London with her daughter. Himself is her first novel. She is currently at work on a second novel and a collection of short stories.

One of Kidd's ten essential supernatural mysteries, as shared at Publishers Weekly:

Falling Angel by William Hjortsberg

This wicked blend of murder and the occult has Harry Angel, hard-boiled private eye, hired to investigate the case of a missing man, Johnny Favorite. A once promising crooner injured in the Second World War, Favorite has fallen off the face of the earth. Following Favorite’s trail, Angel descends into a nightmarish world of voodoo, sex, and violence where nothing is quite what it seems and he’s in danger of losing more than his life. For it turns out that Favorite kept some unusual company and had an interest in the otherworldly. Against a backdrop of 1950s New York, Hjortsberg fashions a wonderful, twisted, supernatural noir. Complete with a sharp plot, tortured humor, and moments of visceral horror.

Read about the other entries on the list.

--Marshal Zeringue

Five YA thrillers with a supernatural twist

S. Jae-Jones is the author of Wintersong. At the BN Teen blog she tagged five YA thrillers with a supernatural twist, [spoiler alert] including:

We Were Liars, by E. Lockhart

Cadence is suffering memory gaps and strange physical symptoms of unknown origin, and it all has to do with what happened the summer she can’t recall. Now, two years later, she’s returning to the private island owned by her family for the first time since that summer, hoping that reuniting with her cousins Johnny and Mirren and her friend Gat will help her remember. The four of them were known as the Liars, and have spent summer together on the private island since they were young. What begins as a mystery about what happened to Cadence turns into a slow unraveling and deconstructing of the privilege that allowed the Liars their summer idylls. The twist may not necessarily be a shock for savvy genre readers, but the twist of the heartstrings might be.

Read about the other entries on the list.

We Were Liars is among Jeff Somers's six novels in which nothing is as it seems, Avery Hastings's five favorite books featuring unreliable narrators, Darren Croucher's five favorite YA novels featuring liars, Michael Waters's six must-read YA books for Mr. Robot fans, Lindsey Lewis Smithson's top seven sob-inducing books that deserve to be made into movies, Ruth Ware's top ten psychological thrillers, and Meredith Moore's five favorite YA thrillers.

--Marshal Zeringue

Top ten stories of obsession

Sara Flannery Murphy grew up in Arkansas, where she divided her time between Little Rock and Eureka Springs, a small artists’ community in the Ozark Mountains. She received her MFA in creative writing at Washington University in St. Louis and studied library science in British Columbia. She lives in Oklahoma with her husband and son.

Murphy's newly released first novel is The Possessions.

One of the author's ten top stories of obsession, as shared at the Guardian:

You by Caroline Kepnes (2014)

Kepnes’s disturbingly funny novel is a stalker tale for the digital era. Joe Goldberg, a wry, self-righteous bookseller, has a meet-cute with Beck, an MFA student. His crush rapidly escalates into stalking. When Joe manages to steal Beck’s phone, he gains unprecedented access to her every thought and move. It’s the technological equivalent of mindreading, every bit as creepy as it sounds. As Joe increasingly crosses boundaries to keep his dream girl within his grasp, the second-person narrative gives the novel a queasy intimacy.

Read about the other entries on the list.

My Book, The Movie: The Possessions.

The Page 69 Test: The Possessions.

--Marshal Zeringue

Ten sci-fi & fantasy books that will remind you that life is about more than suffering

At the B&N Sci-Fi & Fantasy Blog Sarah Gailey tagged ten sci-fi & fantasy books that will remind you what joy feels like, including:

To Say Nothing of the Dog, by Connie Willis

It’s impossible to construct a working time machine while under the watchful eye of a well-trained security bear, but this book will transport you in ways the bears can’t prevent! Ned Henry’s time-travel to Victorian England insearch of a missing antique artifact…and true love? is a witty, intricate science-fiction comedy-of-manners, and will deliver a much-needed dose of sunlight into your to-read list. Unfortunately for the cave dwellers among us, no actual sunlight.

Read about the other entries on the list.

--Marshal Zeringue